Running to the seaside just before summer hits has become a yearly tradition for the Kortrijk Running Crew. When we noticed there was an FKT route registered starting in our city going all the way to Oostende, we couldn't let the opportunity pass by to have a go at setting a new FKT.
We started out at the Belfry of Kortrijk at about 4.00 am. The weather forecast looked promising: a bit cloudy, a slight breeze in the back and temperatures not reaching over 20°C. We ran about an hour in the dark before we were treated to a beautiful sunrise. Pink skies turning blue, and no clouds to be seen. As always, pacing a longer effort in a conservative way when the legs are still fresh feels unnatural in the beginning but after a while we were very comfortable running 6' per km splits. At about 12.5 km in, we encountered a small road block, which we were able to surpass fairly easy without doing any illegal trespassing. We had planned a resupply stop after 40.5 km in Sint-Henricus where we took a 15 minute break at a local bakery to refill our water bottles and have some pastries, drink some soda and/or chocolate milk. Spirits were still high as we were only 4h20' in and only a mere 30 km were separating us from dipping our toes in the seawater. Restarting after the stop was a bit less fluid compared to the first half and the pace was dropping slightly as the first signs of fatigue were showing up. In the meantime, clouds had taken over the blue skies, and with the absence of those rays of sunlight, the monotony (and sometimes ugliness) of the trajectory started to display itself a bit more prominently.
At km 60, we decided to walk for 1 km as an intermezzo and however we could smell the salty sea air already we had to show some grit to persevere for the final stretch of 11.5 km. The last hour we silently ran a few meters apart, each runner in its own zone, repeating its own mantra, envisaging whatever was needed to keep a positive mindset and keep moving one step after the other.
Eventually, just before lunchtime and after 7h52’, we reached Fort Napoleon and immediately our minds cleared up again, being grateful we succeeded in our mission to reach the sub 8-hour milestone. We had some snacks and drinks in the cafeteria and met up with our wives and kids that had arrived just half an hour earlier.